EVALUATION OF THE CONTRACTION OF THE PELVIC FLOOR MUSCLES IN SYMPTOMATIC AND ASYMPTOMATIC WOMEN

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is becoming a major health concern for women of all ages [Bump, 1998]. In particular, POP affect almost half of all women older than 50 years and 11.1% of these women will require surgery by the age of 80 [Subak, 2001]. Although pregnancy and vaginal delivery are considered the major causes for POP development, these factors do not totally explain the origin and progression of pelvic floor dysfunction in all women [Fornell, 2004]. The exercises of voluntary contraction of the pelvic floor are the mainstay of treatment of physical therapy for the Pelvic Floor Disorders. The aim of this study was analyse the displacement of pelvic floor muscles using the finite element method in women with POP and in a healthy women. This represents an attempt to better understand the PFM function and predict the results of pelvic floor muscle training in POP patients.